Bruce et.al.: I see what you mean about Eaton, and I think what I’m going to do is adopt a new “personal Eaton policy.” I will try (and feel free to hold me to it) not to bitch and moan about the guy UNLESS he stinks it up again. As long as he pitches the way he has so far this year, I will try to either say nice things or no things or neutral things. If he sucks it up, he deserves the opening of the floodgates of wrath.

Speaking of the gates of doom, I’m still leaning in the direction of the Mike T. camp. We need another solid middle- to top-of-the-rotation guy if we are to contend for the championship. I don’t know how we acquire that person (trade Burrell? I hate to lose his clubhouse leadership. Trade Vic? Well, there seems to be a correlation between his recent success and the recent overall team offensive assault), but I think we’re another starter away from going all the way. Even if no one stinks it up this year (ala recent Myers, last year’s Eaton, etc.), someone is BOUND to get hurt. A proven starter is better than our emergency options (Happ, Bastardo, Chad Durbin, etc.). Maybe Benson is that guy, but probably not. At this point in his career, his maximum potential is a bottom-of-the-rotation guy.

Glad we’re all in agreement about Coste.

i’ve voted for the allstar team several times in the past few days and every time i’ve written in chris coste on my ballot. he really is a great player. i want to see him as the #1 guy very soon. he plays great defense along with contributing way more offense than ruiz could ever dream of. pitchers always seem to throw good games when he’s behind the plate. and he does a great job of throwing out runners and blocking the plate.

the offense is great when theyre on, no doubt that when this team is hitting theyre the best offense in baseball by far.

this week has proven that al they need to do now is sure up a few things and they can win a championship. those things being strengthening the pen and the rotation, maybe adding someone to the lineup and ensuring that the team hits consistently.

we have to stay on this and demand performances like this. championship teams never let up and never take their foot off the pedal. the white sox were in first place all season and never let up at all the year then won the world series. thats usually the case with champions.

Ill be there again tonight so hopefully the weather holds out.

Of course, you’re entitled to your opinion regarding your estimation of Eaton’s value as 5th starter. However, it’s THIS season that we should be concern with. And it is THIS season that we see strong evidence of Eaton’s maturation as a FIFTH starter at least in the early going. He has obviously benefitted from a close working relationship with pitching coach, Rich Dubee. You SHOULD want a season’s worth of quality starts from Eaton WITHOUT MAKING PREJUDGEMENT. I can agree with that.

I like to comment on your post about Chris Coste and the quote “… the 33-year-old rookie is the man and should be getting the majority of the PT as long as his BA is a hundred points higher than the other guy’s.”

You probably were thinking of Coste’s autobiographical book title..”33-Year-Old Rookie” when you made that comment. This is his third year with the Phillies. I have been a strong supporter of Coste for MORE playing time since 2006 (.328 BA in 65 games) on other websites devoted to Phillies fans. If you look at his splits for his .341 BA this season, you can see as a righthanded hitter he hits righties .339 (21 for 62; .397 OBP) as well as lefties.. .345 (10 for 29; .424 OBP). So, YES, Coste should play more.